Page 34 of The Dante (Those (Damn!) Texas Dantes #1)

She wasn’t alone in this. She never had been. The steady thrum of his heartbeat against her made her close her eyes for a brief moment, anchoring herself in the warmth and strength of him. She clung to him, her fingers gripping his shoulders as he strode through the sunlit halls.

The master suite was breathtaking—massive glass doors led to a terrace overlooking the endless ocean, sheer curtains fluttering in the warm breeze. The space felt almost unreal, too perfect, too untouched, as if waiting for them to leave their mark onit.

Jazz took a slow breath, absorbing the beauty, but also the sense of isolation.

This was their world now—removed from everything and everyone else, asanctuary built just for them.

The scent of salt, sun, and orange blossom drifted through the open space, mingling with the golden glow of the late afternoon light.

Titus set her down at the edge of the bed, his fingers brushing down her arms, his touch reverent.

Slowly, he undressed her, peeling away the layers between them with deliberate care, as if savoring each second.

His mouth found her breasts, kissing, teasing, worshipping.

His hands explored her skin, mapping every curve as if relearning her all over again.

Then he moved lower, pausing at her belly.

A single, lingering kiss.

A silent vow.

Her breath hitched, her fingers tangling in his hair as his mouth trailed downward. When his tongue found her, she gasped, arching against him. Pleasure coursed through her in waves, drowning out everything except the sensation of him, of his touch, his mouth, his devotion.

He teased her, building her up, pulling her apart with slow, torturous strokes until she broke, crying out his name. He lingered, pressing one last kiss against her inner thigh before moving overher.

Titus met her gaze as he pushed inside her, one deep, claiming thrust that stole her breath.

She wrapped her legs around him, holding him close, needing him as much as he needed her.

His hands framed her face, his forehead pressing against hers, his breath hot and ragged.

He moved slowly at first, savoring each sensation, then harder, wilder, until they were both lost to it, lost to each other.

She tried to speak—to ask, to understand—but he silenced her with a kiss, murmuring against her lips, “Later. We have all the time in the world.”

And in that moment, she believedhim.

But Titus wasn’t done. Notyet.

He shifted, rolling her beneath him, his weight pressing her into the soft sheets as his lips found her throat, tracing a slow, heated path down her body. Jazz trembled beneath his touch, her skin hypersensitive, every nerve alive with anticipation.

She arched as his tongue flicked over her nipple, teasing with slow, languid strokes before grazing it lightly with his teeth. Ashudder coursed through her, her back bowing as he sucked gently, then harder, until pleasure exploded low in her belly.

Heat licked through her, each flick of his tongue sending new waves of sensation through her, making her clutch at his shoulders, needing more, needing him.

His fingers followed, rolling, pinching, building her up all over again until she was desperate for him.

His mouth moved lower, atrail of heat over her belly, pausing once more at the slight curve where their child grew within her.

He kissed her there again, softer this time, lingering in a way that sent a deep ache through her chest.

“Mine,” he murmured, voice rough with reverence and possession. “Both of you.”

A shiver ran through her, and she whispered his name, her fingers threading into his hair, trying to pull him back up to her.

With a surge of determination, she shifted, pressing against his shoulders until he let her flip them, straddling him.

Aslow, wicked smile played on her lips as she moved down his body, her hands mapping the hard ridges of his torso, her mouth trailing heat over his skin.

Titus tensed beneath her, alow groan escaping as she pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his abdomen.

She took her time, drinking in every breath, every subtle shift of his muscles beneath her touch.

Her fingers wrapped around him, stroking slow, deliberate, teasing him to the edge before pulling back just enough to keep him wanting more.

His breath turned ragged, his hands fisting in the sheets as she took him into her mouth, swirling her tongue, setting a pace that had him cursing under his breath.

She reveled in the way he lost himself beneath her, his restraint unraveling as his fingers tangled in her hair, guiding her, urging her on.

His groans grew deeper, his hips subtly rocking in time with her movements until he suddenly pulled her up, his grip possessive, his eyes burning with something dark and desperate.

“Enough,” he rasped, flipping her onto her back. “I need to be inside you. Now.”

Before she could recover, he was over her again, his body covering hers, his weight a solid wall of muscle.

He captured her lips in a searing kiss, swallowing her moan as he slid into her in one slow, deliberate thrust, filling her completely.

She clung to him, nails scraping over his back as he started to move slow and deep at first, making her feel every inch of him, every moment, every pulse of pleasure that built betweenthem.

Then he utterly lost control.

His pace quickened, his thrusts turning urgent, wild, their bodies moving together in perfect, desperate rhythm.

Jazz met him thrust for thrust, her gasps mixing with his ragged groans, the heady scent of sex and salt and sun wrapping around them as waves crashed in the distance.

Heat twisted tighter and tighter inside her, until all it took was one more thrust, one more stroke of his fingers over her aching flesh, and she came apart with a cry, dragging him over the edge withher.

Titus groaned her name, his body tensing, shaking as he found his own release, burying himself deep inside her as he collapsed against her, his breath ragged against herneck.

For a long moment, they simply lay there, tangled together, bodies slick with sweat, hearts pounding in sync.

The sound of the ocean drifted through the open terrace doors, waves crashing in a steady, hypnotic rhythm.

Acool breeze ghosted over their heated skin, astark contrast to the lingering warmth betweenthem.

Jazz let her eyes drift shut for a moment, absorbing the feeling of Titus’s body pressing into her, confirming a reality that felt like a dream.

She traced lazy patterns over his back, her legs remained locked around him, unwilling to let him go just yet.

He shifted slightly, pressing a lingering kiss to her shoulder before rolling them onto their sides, pulling her flush against him, keeping her close.

The room was silent, but not empty. The significance of everything—what he had done, what he had risked, what he had nearly lost—settled heavily around them.

Titus shifted onto his back, one arm resting behind his head, the other draped across Jazz’s bare back, fingers tracing idle patterns along her spine.

Her cheek rested against his chest, her breath warm against his skin, her body tangled with his beneath the sheets.

Her fingers moved absently over his palm, tracing the ink of the phoenix that had finally appeared, following the lines like she was memorizing them. Like she was waiting.

He hadn’t spoken since their breathing had evened out. Since their bodies had cooled. Since the fire between them had given way to the slow burn of reality.

But he knew what was coming.

Titus let his hand slip over hers, lacing their fingers together, phoenix to phoenix. His voice was steady when he finally broke the silence.

“It was always going to end this way.”

Jazz didn’t move, didn’t speak, just listened, her silence heavier than words.

Titus took a slow breath, staring at the ceiling as he flexed his fingers around Jazz’s hand. Relief and hesitation warred inside him—relief that he could finally tell her the truth, hesitation because he knew once he did, there was no taking itback.

Would she see it for what it was? Anintended sacrifice? Or would she only see the pain he had forced her to endure?

“The night you walked away, Iwatched you go. Ihad to. If I had stopped you, if I had told you the truth, they would have known. They were watching me, Jazz. Watching us. They needed to believe I was breaking, that I was vulnerable. If they had seen me try to hold onto you, they would have used you against me.”

Jazz didn’t move, but he felt the subtle tension in her body, the way her breath slowed as she listened.

“Vex was circling, the Feds were closing in, and I had to let them think they had me. Had to let you think I was choosing them over you. If you had known, you wouldn’t have been able to lie to them.” His grip on her hand tightened. “They would have torn you apart.”

He swallowed hard, his voice rougher now. “I hated every second of it. Watching you hurt. Watching you leave. Not being able to tell you that every move I made was for you. For us. That everything I built, everything I risked, was to make sure we came out of this clean.”

Jazz’s fingers hesitated against his palm, her silence pressing into him more than any words ever could. He didn’t know if it meant she understood or if she was struggling to accept it. Was she reassured, or was she just trying to wrap herself around all of what he had done for her? For them.

The uncertainty gnawed at him, but he didn’t push.

He had laid it all out—now it was her turn to decide what to do with it.

Slowly, she turned his hand over, tracing the inked lines of the phoenix branded into his skin.

“We’re both phoenixes now, aren’t we?” she murmured.

“You burned everything down so we could rise from it.”